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The Brooklyn Cyclones
BROOKLYN CYCLONES
New York Penn League
STATEN ISLAND YANKEES
 The Staten Island Yankees

Battle for the Bridge
The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Photo by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani
The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Photo by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani

2003 Minor League Notes

The Subway Series is back in the Minor Leagues. The Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets “A” affiliate) and the Staten Island Yankees (“A” affiliate) – affectionately known as the “Baby-Bombers” -- have both had success since joining the New York-Penn League. The Cyclones and the Williamsport Crosscutters shared the 2001 New York-Penn League title. In 2002, the Staten Island Yankees captured their second New York Penn League title in three years.

The Baby Bomber’s return some exciting young stars to the lineup and, despite last season’s success, the Staten Island Yankees made some changes in the offseason by adding manager Andy Stankiewicz and pitching coach Dave Eiland—both former New York Yankees.

The Cyclones are looking to bounce back from their 2002 sophomore season. After winning the NY-Penn League in 2001, they finished last season with a record of 37-37, two games out of the wild card. Equipped with a new coaching staff, Tim Teufel replaces former Met teammate Howard Johnson as the Cyclones manager. Hector Berrios will be the hitting coach, while Roger LaFrancois will take over as pitching coach.

Even though the season is young, the Cyclones players are already putting up some exciting numbers. Matthew Lindstrom won his first start of the season throwing seven innings of one-hit ball while striking out four. At the plate, the Cyclones have been hot. Thus far, outfielder Seth Pietsch and Shortstop David Reaver are batting .444 and.429 respectively ranking sixth and seventh in the batting race. Pietsch is also leading the way with the league lead in slugging percentage (1.111).

The Cyclones won their fifth straight game on Tuesday (6/24), and finished a three-game sweep of the Staten Island Yankees, with a 5-3 victory. Brooklyn’s Tanner Osberg pitched five innings and only gave up one run, but got the no decision. Shortstop David Reaver continued his early season hitting display with two-RBI singles. Robert Paulk closed it out, recording his second save of the season. The Cyclones record moves to 6-1 just a half-game behind Williamsport. They will now head to Troy, NY to face the Tri-City ValleyCats in a three-game set.

Series Outlook/Review

Both of these teams look to be the top contenders for the 2003 New York- Penn League Championship, but this series is about pride! Who will win the Battle for the Bridge?

The early woes of the SI Yankees continue as their record drops to 1-5. Tonight they head to Massachusetts to face the division leading Lowell Spinners.

Don’t blink, as this series is far from over. These teams will meet a total of twelve times this season. The drama continues next week as the Cyclones take on the Staten Island Yankees at Richmond County Ballpark on Monday June 30th.
Cyclones Named Co-Champions!

In light of the tragedy that took place on September 11th, the New York-Penn League decided to cancel the remainder of its playoffs. The only series left to play was the New York-Penn League Championship series between the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Williamsport Crosscutters. As a result of the cancellations, the Cyclones and the Crosscutters will share the 2001 New York-Penn League title. Along with the New York-Penn League, six other minor leagues canceled their playoff series.

Ferry Facts

The Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry
As the season is now over for both the Cyclones and the Yankees, there are a number of players whose regular season performances are worthy of note. Jay Caligiuri of the Brooklyn Cyclones finished third among league leaders in batting (.332) and tied for third in hits (78). Aaron Rifkin of the Yankees was fifth in batting (.322); tied for fourth in home runs (10) and triples (5); second in RBI (49) and slugging percentage (.566); tied for third in hits (78); and tied for first for extra-base hits. Frank Corr of the Cyclones showed off his power by leading the league in home runs (13), slugging percentage (.591), and extra-base hits (34), while he also tied for second in the league for doubles (20). Over the course of the season, we noticed that the Cyclones' stolen base numbers rose steadily. One of the primary reasons for this trend was Angel Pagan, who was ninth in batting (.315) and lead the league with 30 stolen bases.

Among the pitching staffs, both teams had standouts worth noting. The Cyclones' Ross Peeples lead the league in ERA (1.34) and tied for first with nine wins. The Yankees' ace, Jason Arnold, was third in ERA (1.50), wins (7), and tied for first in complete games (2). Charles Manning of the Yankees' staff was leading the league in strikeouts (87) and tied for second in wins (8). A consistent fixture among the league's ERA leaders was Cyclones' starter Luz Portobanco. Portobanco was seventh in league ERA with a 2.04 earned run average.

Here are the statistics for both teams...

REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS
CYCLONES   YANKEES
51 WINS 47
23 LOSSES 27
1 RANK 2
TEAM BATTING STATS as of 8/26/01
CYCLONES vs. YANKEES
.281 BA .265
359 R 373
694 H 662
58 HR 45
193 BB 250
96/B> SB 68
TEAM PITCHING STATS as of 8/26/01
CYCLONES vs. YANKEES
2.41 ERA 3.22
491 Hits Allowed 540
254 BB 230
629 SO 618


Arnold Pitches First No-Hitter in SI Yanks History!

 On July 27th, Jason Arnold, one of the Yankees' second-round selections in this year's amateur draft, threw a no-hitter against the Vermont Expos. Considered the ace of the pitching staff, Arnold pitched nine innings, allowing no hits, one walk, and added 15 strikeouts. While only needing a mere run to defeat the Expos, the "Baby Bombers" supported their ace's performance with eight runs on 14 hits. Arnold's feat was the first against the Expos in franchise history. The last no-hitter in the NY-Penn League was on August 10, 2000.

Staten Island Yankees vs. Brooklyn Cyclones
JULY - 2001
14

Cyclones - 3
Yankees - 1
 15

Cyclones - 1
Yankees - 0
 24

Yankees - 6
Cyclones - 1
 25

Cyclones - 3
Yankees - 2
AUGUST - 2001
13

Cyclones - 13
Yankees - 2
 14

Cyclones - 3
Yankees - 1
 17

Cyclones - 2
Yankees - 1
 18

Yankees - 5
Cyclones - 4
Where are the games being played?
Richmond County Bank Ballpark - (July - 14 & 24, August - 14 & 18)
KeySpan Park at Coney Island - (July - 15 & 25, August - 13 & 17)


Staten Island Ferry Take the S.I. Ferry to the Game!

Visit our Staten Island Ferry Schedule Page to view Staten Island Ferry schedules to and from the series between the rival Brooklyn Cyclones and Staten Island Yankees.

THE RETURN OF BROOKLYN BASEBALL!

    Mayor Giuliani pitches the first pitch at Coney Island
    Mayor Giuliani delivers first pitch at
    new Brooklyn Cyclones KeySpan Park
    On June 25, 2001 at 7:19 PM, 19 year old Matt Peterson of the Brooklyn Cyclones threw out the first pitch in $39 million dollar KeySpan Park history. With that pitch, baseball and the legacy it carries were officially reborn in Brooklyn. While KeySpan Park in Coney Island is not Ebbets Field in Flatbush and the Brooklyn Cyclones of today are not the Brooklyn Dodgers of 1957, Brooklyn enthusiastically welcomed baseball back home.

    The festivities surrounding the grand opening of the new ballpark began at 5:00 PM with a parade that included city dignitaries, marching bands, and Little League teams. The evening culminated in a dramatic fashion as the Cyclones defeated the Mahoning Valley Scrappers 3-2 in ten innings.

    With two out in the Cyclones' ninth, Edgar Rodriguez hit a two-run homer to put the game into extra innings. In the tenth, Cyclones' catcher Michael Jacobs won the game by smacking a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. There is no doubt that the game was a very special event for the 7,500 fans that packed the stands and all of Brooklyn.

    Brooklyn Cyclones - Complete season schedule and box scores.

    KeySpan Park - Stadium and ticket information.


THE "BABY BOMBERS" OPEN 2001 SEASON!

    Mayor Giuliani and Guy Molinari at Richmond County Bank Ballpark
    Mayor Giuliani and Guy Molinari celebrate
    the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark
    June 24, 2001, at the grand opening of the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George, the single-A Staten Island Yankees beat the Hudson Valley Renegades 3-1. While the action packed game attracted a standing room only crowd of 6,854, the breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline and the celebrity appearance of Dwight Gooden definitely added to the fun.

    At the beginning of the game, the fans were welcomed personally by the players who signed autographs and posed for pictures; while at the end of the game, the fans were thanked with a fireworks display over the view of Manhattan. When Yankee first baseman Aaron Rifkin, hit the first home run in Richmond County Bank Ballpark history in the bottom of the fourth inning over the right field wall, the crowd exploded.

    From 1883-1887, Staten Island was home to professional baseball- The New York Metropolitans of the old American Association. However, last night, with the first game in the new stadium, Staten Island welcomed the rebirth of local baseball. New fans and baseball aficionados alike enthusiastically watched with wonder as the Yankees played their first home game in their new state of the art stadium.

    Staten Island Yankees - Complete season schedule and box scores.

    Richmond County Bank Ballpark - Stadium and ticket information.




Last Updated On: Thursday, June 26, 2003

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